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Cultural references in SUDA51's works
This is a list of all cultural references found in the works of Goichi Suda, also known as Suda 51. ''Flower, Sun, and Rain: Murder and Mystery in Paradise'' Film and television * The Rocky film series is referenced twice in the game. The first time is when Sumio Mondo meets the Balboa brothers and presumes them to be boxers, likening their surname to the boxer Rocky Balboa. The second time is after Mondo realizes the poisoned Yayoi Hanayama is actually asleep, when in her dreaming she yells the name Adrian. Mondo then deduces, "She's dreaming...about Rocky?" * Towards the end of Mondo's encounter with Tokio Morishima, he randomly asks, "Hey, does Lois still do that thing with her tongue?" This is a reference to a quote in the animated sitcom Family Guy. Music * The game shares its title with that of a song by Japanese supergroup Pyg. People * In order to unlock every prize in the game, Sumio Mondo must travel 510,000 steps. This is a reference to director Goichi Suda's nickname, Suda 51. * The name of the Flower, Sun, and Rain hotel's architect, Igor Ishizakaski, is likely a reference to the game's background modeler, Akihiko Ishizaka. Ishizaka's name is also alluded to in several of Grasshopper's later titles. * The skeletal design of Extra Costume 6 is an aullusion to the outfit worn by professional wrestler Adolfo Tapia, better known as La Parka. Sports * In the epilogue of the game's third chapter, Edo Macalister expresses his passion for soccer, particularly the "Rangers" team. However this name is used by a number of soccer teams, so it is uncertain which one he is referring to. Video games * After obtaining all Lost and Found items in the Nintendo DS version of the game, Sumio Mondo gains access to a costume with the likeness of No More Heroes' Travis Touchdown, even coming equipped with Touchdown's Tsubaki Mk-III beam katana. * Since the game's worldwide Nintendo DS reissue, the four-note chime heard after solving a puzzle has sometimes been confused for a reference to the title screen of No More Heroes. This is false, as the chime can be heard in the original PlayStation 2 version of the game, which predates No More Heroes by nearly seven years. * Yayoi Hanayama bares some resemblance to, as well as having the first name of Yayoi Itsushima, a character in the video game Moonlight Syndrome. ''killer7'' Anime * Ayame Blackburn has a passion for anime cosplay and enjoys making radically cliché introduction speeches in Japanese while striking action poses like those of Sailor Moon, among other magical girl-based franchises. Music * The surname "Smith" used by the Smith Syndicate is a reference to the British indie pop band the Smiths. In addition, each of the courier memos has the name of a song by the Smiths, and one wall in the game has the words "How Soon Is Now" scrawled across it in blood. People * The ISZK Land amusement park is itself probably a reference to art director Akihiko Ishizaka. Television and film * Emir Parkreiner's weapon, a golden gun, is a reference to the same weapon publicized in the 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, and its novel. * Linda Vermilion's appearance is based on Nami Matsushima from the film Female Convict 701: Scorpion. * Pigeons the player encounters throughout the game are named after Bond girls. * The Handsome Men, also known as the Punishing Rangers, are a parody of the Power Rangers superhero franchise. Video games * Edo Macalister, who works at the reception desk of the Union Hotel, previously appeared in Goichi Suda's Flower, Sun, and Rain as the manager of the Flower, Sun, and Rain hotel. * The Oracle previously appeared as Mithra in the video game Moonlight Syndrome. ''No More Heroes'' Anime * Jeane references the manga Miyuki while fast-forwarding her side of her story. * The Lovikov Balls are a reference to the Dragon Balls from the anime and manga series of the same name. The manual refers to them as being part of a wish-granting dragon - another reference to the Dragon Ball series. Furthermore, the Strawberry on the Shortcake trance of Dark Side Mode mirrors the Super Saiyan transformation of the Dragon Ball franchise. * The Schpeltiger resembles Kaneda's motorcycle in the manga Akira, as well as its film adaptation. Corporations * An assassination gig in the game directs Travis Touchdown to kill the CEO of a fast food restaurant chain looking to open in Santa Destroy called "Pizza Butt," a reference to Pizza Hut. * Art on the unlockable Denki Bosatsu t-shirt promotes the real-life sake brewery Kikusakari Sake. Randall Lovikov can be seen holding a bottle with the same logo in his PR Illustration. * Art on the unlockable Famitsu series of t-shirts promotes the real-life magazine Famitsu Weekly, and was illustrated by actual Famitsu staff members. * Art on the unlockable GHM series of t-shirts promote the game's developer, Grasshopper Manufacture. * Art on the unlockable Manga t-shirt features the logo and slogan of real-life manga culture magazine Megahertz. * Death Metal's saber, the Orange II, has a symbol which parodies Apple Inc.'s logo as it was designed by the fictitious Orange Computer, also a parody of Apple Inc. * During Ranking Battle 9 when Touchdown fights through Destroy Stadium, inside vending machines on the first two floors can clearly be seen actual bags of Lay's and Doritos chips. * Each time a ranked assassin is slain and the player is shown the UAA Ranking List, the player is complimented with a "Marvelous!" This may be a reference to one of the game's publishers and a frequent Grasshopper affiliate, Marvelous Interactive. * On the menu of Destroy Stadium booth Purple Elephant, "teriyaki smiles" are included as free of charge. This is a parody of McDonald's restaurants citing on their menues that smiles are free. * The Grasshopper Manufacture logo can be found in several parts of Santa Destroy, namely on the sides of newspaper dispensers and on the WGHM 86.6 FM billboard (a radio station which itself references Grasshopper's three-letter abbreviation, GHM). Films * Art and writing on the unlockable Fudo t-shirt references the cult martial arts documentary BUDO: The Art of Killing. * Art on the unlockable Eat t-shirt references the musical comedy The Rocky Horror Picture Show. * Art on the unlockable Killer Lodge t-shirt references the Friday the 13th film series, particularly the first installment. * Art on the unlockable Looker t-shirt resembles the theatrical poster for the horror film Jeepers Creepers. * Dr. Peace's weapon, a golden revolver, is a possible homage to Emir Parkreiner of killer7's golden gun. Goichi Suda also featured the golden gun in killer7 as a reference to the same weapon publicized in the 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, and its novel. * Dr. Peace bares a strong resemblance to American actor Charles Bronson, famous for his movie roles which include a police detective, gunfighter and hitman, all three of which apply to Peace. * Jeane's history of sexual abuse and seeking prostitution as a means of paying for her training in the ways of an assassin are homages to the 1974 cult film Thriller: A Cruel Picture. * Santa Destroy's baseball team, the Santa Destroy Warriors, is named after the film of the same name. However, their appearance are similar to the film's fictional gang, the Baseball Furies, sans the corpse paint. * The entrance to the Townsend Residence where Travis confronts Death Metal bares a strong resemblance to Tony Montana's mansion in the 1983 film Scarface. * The game makes several references to Star Wars. Examples include the beam katana, the death of the protagonist's mentor before his eyes (Thunder Ryu), a character "revealing" himself to be the protagonist's father (Dark Star), masked bikers who bear a resemblance to Darth Vader, and credits of the game's first and untrue ending parodying those of Star Wars (featuring a song entitled "Staff Wars EPISODE I"). ** Concerning Dark Star, concept art on one of the in-game trading cards also shows the character may have originally been planned to remove the entire upper-half of his helmet, leaving only a portion of the lower-half, further connecting him to Darth Vader (particularly his death scene in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi). ** Another possible reference to the film series is when Silvia Christel calls Travis' cell phone before ranking matches, telling him to "trust his Force," likely a reference to the power of the same name used in Star Wars by the Jedi and Sith. ** Travis' special attacks are performed in "Dark Side Mode", a reference to Star Wars' "dark side of the Force." ** Masked bikers who taunt Touchdown en route to Dark Star's castle are called T.I.E. Riders, a reference to the T.I.E Fighter vessel in Star Wars. Their motorcycles also have a glass panel on the front of the body similar to the one built into the cockpit module of T.I.E. Fighters. Furthermore, the Schpeltiger bares some resemblance to an X-Wing. ** There is also a poster in Travis' room and at Beef Head which resembles the poster for Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith. ** After emerging victorious from a ranking match and viewing the UAA leaderboard, when the player presses a button to continue, the screen transitions with effects similar to the hyperspace sequence seen in the Star Wars original trilogy. * The title for one of the mature videos Travis is prompted to return to Beef Head, Coffee and MILF, may be based on the pornographic film series Honey and MILF. * The "To Be Continued" logo at the end of the game's credits is a reference to the Back to the Future film series. * When Travis' closet is opened at the Motel "NO MORE HEROES", a white button-up shirt with what appears to be red ink on the breast pocket can be briefly seen. This is may be a reference to a recurring joke in the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead. Geography * Area 51 is a reference to the nickname for a military base located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States. * Despite taking place in California, all of vehicles in the game feature New Jersey license plates. * Destroy Stadium bears some resemblance to Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium's famous "facade" can be seen on the outfield walls. * The game makes frequent wrestling references to the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta. Calgary was formerly the home of one of the toughest wrestling training facilities, the Hart House. Music * Helter-Skelter was named after the Beatles song of the same name. * Talbot and Weller's names may be homages to Mick Talbot and Paul Weller of the British pop band The Style Council. * The building across the street from Beef Head has a large poster displaying "No me toques lo cojones-Grasshopper". The design of this poster is a parody of the Sex Pistols' debut album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. In addition, near the a cosmetics store in western Santa Destroy is called Never Mind the Botox. This is also a parody of the Sex Pistols' debut. * The Dark Side Mode attack Anarchy in the Galaxy may be a reference to the Sex Pistols song "Anarchy in the U.K.". * The game shares its title with that of an album by The Stranglers. A poster stating "Whatever happened to the heroes?", a lyric from The Stranglers song "No More Heroes", also appears throughout Santa Destroy. * The Miami Bass t-shirt sold at Area 51 is a reference to the American rap group 2 Live Crew. * The name for Shinobu's katana, the Three Girl Rhumba's Sword, is a reference to the Wire song "Three Girl Rhumba". Other * Concept art of Dr. Peace's revolver shows the initials "DP" engraved into the gun's handle. The letters overlap each other in a manner similar to the initials "DD" on the Marvel Comics character Daredevil's costume. * Dr. Peace's name may be a pun on the homonym "piece" being a common slang term for a handgun. * It is hinted by his dialogue that Thunder Ryu has had sex with Travis on some occasions, referencing the ancient practice of pederasty in some Japanese samurai castes. * The design of Thunder Ryu's beam katana, the D.O.S., bares a resemblance to a shirasaya, a plain Japanese blade mount. * Moai statues can be found throughout Santa Destroy. Inside the subway system, advertisements describing Moai Financial can be seen. * The game is believed to be a symbolism on console wars, because of frequent mentions of being the top rank. * The game makes frequent references to tigers, including trading cards in the Mask of the Legendary Wrestler set, the tiger seen in the upper-right corner of the screen, and Silvia's tiger-related remarks such as, "Go get 'em tiger," and "Eye of the tiger." This is due to Travis' Japanese name (Torabisu) roughly translating to "tiger." "Go get 'em Tiger" may also be a references to a quote of Mary Jane Watson from the Spider-Man comics. * The game frequently breaks the fourth wall. In the opening sequence, Travis references the average gamer's lack of patience, and then says, "for you, there, holding the Wii Remote like that? Just press the A button." In one of the final scenes of the game, Jeane says, in reference to her dark back story, "it alone would jack up the age rating of this game even further," as well as, "What if the game gets delayed?" The reference to age rating is analogous to Suda's claims of making No More Heroes more violent than Manhunt 2, a game which was originally rated Adults Only by the ESRB. In the game's "real" ending, Henry also expresses that he "would've thought Travis and the player would have figured it out by now," in reference to the truth that he is Travis' twin brother. * The name for the King Tut shop in Santa Destroy is a reference to Tutankhamun, an Egyptian Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty, during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. * The name for the Pirates & Ninjas shop in Santa Destroy is a reference to an internet meme that circulates in the form of an ongoing debate that asks the question "Who would win in a fight: pirates or ninjas?" * Travis can be seen in an early cutscene placing his hands on a Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly poster, uttering the words "MOE~" (pronounced "mo-eh"), a slang term frequently used by otakus, like Travis himself. It is a Japanese slang word referring to fetish for or love for characters in video games or anime and manga. People * Destroyman's alter ego, John Harnet, bares a strong resemblance to American heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter, Josh Barnett. This influence is addressed in a GameTrailers video interview with Suda51. * Dr. Peace bares a strong resemblance to American actor Charles Bronson, famous for his movie roles which include a police detective, gunfighter and hitman, all three of which apply to Dr. Peace. * Counting down to the game's release in Japan, 51 video clips were uploaded to No More Heroes' Japanese website, in reference to director Goichi Suda's nickname, Suda 51. * Harvey Moiseiwitsch Volodarskii bares a resemblance to real-life magician Criss Angel. * Silvia Christel's name is an allusion to European actress Sylvia Kristel. * The crotch grab Letz Shake performs is reminiscent of the dance move performed by American musician and entertainer Michael Jackson. * The name for the Egbert theatre in Santa Destroy is a reference to American film critic and screenwriter Roger Ebert. * Travis bares a strong resemblance to former Jackass star, Johnny Knoxville. This influence is addressed in a GameTrailers video interview. Sports * Each region, and several businesses and streets of Santa Destroy are named after a wrestling move, such as Body Slam Beach, Piledriver Realty, Rounding Body Press Station, Suplex Pizza, Tag Team Taco Twins and Avalanche Hold Street. More precisely, there are a number of references to lucha libre wrestling, such as the Luchaco gas station in Santa Destroy and the Mask of the Legendary Wrestler set of trading cards which each represent various masks of popular, "legendary" lucha libre wrestlers. Video games * At various points throughout the game, usually following the death of the main character, Travis, a "Zaka TV" screen is displayed. Zaka TV is a news station featured in two other Suda51 titles Michigan: Report from Hell and killer7. * Before telling her story, Jeanne quips, "You don't want this to be No More Heroes Forever, do you?" This is a reference to Duke Nukem Forever, a game infamous for its protracted development schedule. * Behind Travis' armchair is a shelf containing many collectible items, among them a Nintendo 64. Also, the cartridge of the Pure White Giant Glastonbury game playable on Travis' television after defeating Harvey Moiseiwitsch Volodarskii resembles that of a Nintendo 64 cartridge. * Cat Jeane may be a reference to the stray cat Ryo Hazuki cares for in the Dreamcast game Shenmue. * Destroyman's "Destroy Cannon" move is based on the "Hadouken" move of Street Fighter. * The electronics manufacturer ISZKTEC is a reference to the ISZK Land amusement park in killer7, which is itself probably a reference to art director Akihiko Ishizaka. * The Forest of Bewilderment may be a reference to the Lost Woods in The Legend of Zelda, which is a wooded area with the same maze-like quality. * The game makes several references to Suda51's previous production, killer7. Examples include Bad Girl's fridge in the Destroy Stadium basement containing a label reading Chiller7, "Bad Girl" being a slogan seen on one of Travis Bell's muscle shirts, techniques taught to Travis by Randall Lovikov being named after the likenesses of the Smith Syndicate, and Ermen Palmer, an assassin who breaks into Travis' motel room, attempting to kill him while he is defenseless on the toilet in both of the game's endings, being a homage to Emir Parkreiner. Also, lucha libre masks Travis encounters before each ranking match contain letters signed M.S., which may refer to Mask de Smith, an assassin and luche libre wrestler in killer7. Another possible reference to the game are the splash screens that load when the player reaches the location of a ranking match, which show a black silhouette of the mission's target, synonymous of the level select menu of killer7. * The game's pause menu graphically resembles that of a second generation video game console. The Pure White Giant Glastonbury game playable on Travis' television assumes the appearance of a second generation shoot 'em up as well. * The visor Letz Shake dons during the Disaster Blaster's initiation phase resembles that of Nintendo's Virtual Boy, while the Earthquake Generator contains engines that refer to the PlayStation 3's cell microprocessor and the Xbox 360's Trinity engine. Concept art on one of Lets Shake's trading cards also shows another peripheral Shake was meant to don during the Disaster Blaster sequence, a glove with a design similar to a Virtual Boy controller. * The game's title screen plays a four-note fanfare of the chime heard after solving a puzzle in Flower, Sun, and Rain. * The name for Thunder Ryu's beam katana, the primitive D.O.S., is a reference to the family of operating systems for IBM compatible PCs marketed between 1981 and 1995. * There are a number of references to Fire Pro Wrestling, a game series Suda was previously involved with directing. The Japanese version of the game's instruction manual comic references Super Fire Pro Wrestling Lucha Libres. Suda previously worked on two titles from the Fire Pro Wrestling series, though the Lucha Libres installment referenced is apparently fictional. The manager of Job Center wears a GONGS t-shirt, which is yet another reference to Fire Pro Wrestling. GONGS was the name given to the in-game wrestling federation based on the real-life federation RINGS. The "Mask De Panther" mentioned in the descriptions of the first and third videos available at Beef Head references the name given to Tiger Mask, the main character of select installments of the Fire Pro Wrestling series, when published in the United States, so as to avoid legal trouble. In turn, the Tiger Mask character of Fire Pro Wrestling is a reference to the real life professional wrestling persona based on the 1968 manga Tiger Mask. Finally, Travis' mentor, Thunder Ryu, is a character from the Fire Pro Wrestling series, one that Suda has worked on in the past. Thunder Ryu's Fire Pro Wrestling incarnation was based on the real-life wrestler Genichiro Tenryu. * Three trading cards in the game are of professional wrestlers El Flor, El Sol and El Lluvia, meaning The Flower, The Sun and The Rain. Also, a Japanese two-page print advertisement for the game features Silvia Christel sunbathing in a biki without a top, sporting the letters "F.S.R." These are obvious references to Flower, Sun, and Rain, one of Suda's previous productions. ''No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle'' Anime * After being vertically bisected in the first installment, Destroyman reappears in Desperate Struggle as an android. This situation may be a reference to the Dragon Ball Z character Frieza, who was also converted into an android after being slashed in half and left for dead, albeit a horizontal slash rather than a vertical one (although after becoming an android, Frieza was in fact bisected vertically with a sword). Corporations * The Pizza Butt corporation, whose name parodies the real-life corporation Pizza Hut, will reappear in Desperate Struggle. Films * An unnamed girl who will debut in Desperate Struggle wields a double-bladed beam katana. This weapon may have been inspired by the dual-bladed lightsaber used by Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. * In the game's teaser trailer, Travis Touchdown declares "I will be back!" before engaging a battle with presumably another assassin. This is likely a reference to the Terminator film series' catchphrase "I'll be back." Furthermore, Touchdown's words here initiate a clip of music similar to that of the Terminator scores. People * In the game's teaser trailer, a row of buildings can also be seen, topped by flags of Santa Destroy. Each building is numbered, with one building labeled "51," in reference to Goichi Suda's nickname, Suda 51. * Touchdown begins the game ranked 51st in the United Assassins Association, another reference to Suda 51. Category:Flower, Sun, and Rain: Murder and Mystery in Paradise Category:killer7 Category:Lists Category:No More Heroes Category:No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle